Islamic State Beheads Two Female Kurdish Politicians For Teaching 'Arab Women Have Equal Rights As Arab Men'
New
Age Islam News Bureau
30
January 2021
• New Zealand Police Includes Hijab in Uniform, Developed By Police And Design Experts from Massey University
• Chess
Playing Gets Popularity Among Women During COVID-19 In Afghanistan
• Saudi
Arabia’s Princess Reema On Why Gender Equality Must Be A Global Priority
• Amnesty
Slams Houthi Ban On Yemeni Women
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/islamic-state-beheads-two-female/d/124187
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Islamic State Beheads Two Female Kurdish Politicians For Teaching 'Arab Women Have Equal Rights As Arab Men'
By
Johnlee Varghese
January
30, 2021
The
Islamic State (ISIS) militants allegedly have beheaded two female politicians,
who were kidnapped from the Kurdish region of Syria earlier last week, local
news sources have reported.
This
is said to be the first time that ISIS also known as Daesh has beheaded women.
The assassination came to light after their bodies were discovered in the
northeastern Hasakah province on January 23.
According
to local sources, the Islamic State militants, who have taken responsibility
for the kidnapping and murder of the two politicians. The group allegedly was
miffed that the two women were part of an institution that was promoting equal
rights for Arab women in the region.
The
Daesh terrorists reportedly dressed up as the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) - an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militia, who have played a key role in
assisting US forces in thwarting the Salafist forces in Syria.
According
to the Syria-based Rojava Information Centre (RIC), the two slain female
politicians have been identified as Hind Latif Al Khadir, who was head of the
economy committee of the town of Til Shayir, and Sa'da Faysal Al Hermas was
co-president of the town's people's council.
Both
the women were allegedly targeted for their work with the Autonomous
Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). In December, ISIS has similarly
beheaded two official male officials working with AANES and left a warning that
anyone working for the institution will meet a similar fate.
The
RIC sources revealed that since June has increased its attacks against AANES
officials in the region to destabilize "NE Syria."
Janet
Grabowski, a Human Rights Activist supporting the cause of a free in a tweet
indicated that the ANNES officials were being targeted as "Arab
women" were being taught that they had same rights as Arab men. Some
didn't like that of course."
The
ISIS militants, who follow an extreme form of Salafist ideology, is opposed to
any form of progress or rights being accorded to women. During its peak, the
ISIS that controlled swathes of land in Syria and Iraq introduced archaic
punishments such as stoning to death, beheading and even had sex slave markets
where it used to sell kidnapped women.
https://www.ibtimes.sg/isis-beheads-two-female-kurdish-politicians-teaching-arab-women-have-equal-rights-arab-men-55246
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New
Zealand Police Includes Hijab in Uniform, Developed By Police And Design
Experts from Massey University
29
January 2021
, and
it has attracted international attention with a UK police district trialling
the new hijab.
Inspector
Braydon Lenihan told Checkpoint the idea got momentum from staff at a careers
day in 2018.
"They
were getting questions from young Muslim women as to why there was no hijab as
part of the uniform, and that they would that they'd be considering a career in
the police but that was something that was holding them back.
"So
clearly having heard that we started to look around. We looked internationally
as to what was available for other police departments, and found that actually
there was nothing.
"Women
of Muslim faith were having to actually provide their own. We thought this was
a bit of a gap and a bit of an area where we could probably be leaders in this
space."
Massey
University's School of Design played a key part in developing the hijab, he
said.
"We
developed other parts of uniform for the New Zealand police and having that
experience we knew we had to have something that was comfortable, had good fit
and functionality… but also that somebody could wear that was comfortable for
them for a long duration of time… maybe even a 12 hour shift.
"What
came out of that was the material we settled on - a quite a light sports-type
material that's moisture wicking, cutting edge in terms of its design and how
form-fitting it is for the person, and also some safety features in there to
look after our people.
"If
an officer is involved in an altercation that involves the hijab being pulled
from their heads, if that fastening is too secure, it might not give, and
unfortunately that becomes either a choking or dragging risk for our officers.
"So
in terms of the clasping mechanism and the release mechanism for that, that was
quite key for us in terms of our officers' safety."
The hijab
was trialled by several female officers at police national headquarters, to
test for fitness and functionality. They were not Muslim women, but were able
to give feedback on how well prototypes fitted, Lenihan said.
"Following
that we sent it out to the Royal NZ Police College. Some female defensive
tactics trainers actually wore it while they were training… and really putting
it through its paces."
The
hijab is now an official part of the NZ Police uniform, he said.
"Females
of the Muslim faith, if they choose to wear the hijab, it is available for
them. It is an approved official piece of New Zealand police uniform."
After
putting out a press release showing the new item of police uniform, the United
Kingdom's Leicestershire Muslim Police Association got in touch saying they
were keen to try the hijab there.
"We've
been in conversations with them to see how we can provide for their needs and
put them in touch both with my team and also the team at the Massey School of
Design around the requirements.
"This
afternoon we sent across… another three hijabs in the Leicestershire black,
which is the colour of their uniform. There's already one hijab over there
being worn by a trainee constable.
"I
think whenever you can provide something that enables a section of the
community that has previously felt like they couldn't be part of the New
Zealand Police, or be part of their community, I think to be able to do that is
pretty special."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018781544/tailor-made-hijab-now-part-of-nz-police-uniform-for-muslim-female-officers
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Chess
playing gets popularity among women during COVID-19 in Afghanistan
2021-01-29
by
Abdul Haleem
MAZAR-E-SHARIF,
Afghanistan, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 related quarantines have not
restricted the life of Zahra Ebrahimi in Afghanistan's northern Mazar-e-Sharif
city, as she beat her isolated quarantine life and encouraged girls to learn
chess in the relatively peaceful city in Afghanistan.
"Living
in isolation during quarantine to protect myself from COVID-19 virtually was
boring and even caused psychological problems for me and others,"
24-year-old Ebrahimi said.
"To
get rid of isolation and to overcome the challenge, I have decided to practice
chess playing and also encourage the women and girls to learn on how to play
the game," she said.
The
Chess Federation in Mazar-e-Sharif city, capital of the northern Balkh
province, has welcomed Ebrahimi's initiative and supported anyone who is
interested to learn the game.
Describing
chess games as a "mental exercise" that strengthens one's
intellectual ability, the chess coach Ebrahimi maintained that she wanted to
train more and more female chess players.
"Learning
chess and playing the game from one hand strengthens your mental ability and
from the other, excites your feeling," said a girl named Arzo Amin.
Ebrahimi,
engaging in cultural activities after graduating from college, said Afghan
women are more talented than they appear and if provided the chance they could
earn honor for their country.
"In
the beginning, few girls dared to attend the chess class because of cultural
barriers but the number of trainees has gradually increased and currently
scores of girls attended the class to learn and even some attended the local
tournament to display their abilities," said the lady with pride.
Playing
chess in Afghanistan has been regarded as a mental sport for men. "I am
determined to promote the culture of chess playing among women and encourage
them to attend the local tournaments," Ebrahimi said.
To
protect its citizens from the coronavirus, the government of Afghanistan
imposed restrictions in March last year and also shut down the door of schools
for months to help the citizens stay safe and the measures are still partially
intact.
Staying
at home for months to escape COVID-19, according to Ebrahimi, has proved boring
for many women as some have faced domestic violence and psychological problems.
She opened the door for women and girls to attend the training class and kill
time amid the pandemic.
"To
beat the isolation and to pass time during COVID-19 quarantine, in my opinion,
playing chess could help you forget all the mental pains," said Ebrahim.
Ebrahim
told Xinhua that she had organized a two-day chess tournament with the participation
of 24 girls and women from Balkh and the neighboring Jawzan provinces. Enditem
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-01/29/c_139707434.htm
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Saudi
Arabia’s Princess Reema On Why Gender Equality Must Be A Global Priority
JAN
28 2021
Women
around the world are making impressive strides; they’ve led the fight against
Covid-19, are increasingly taking on senior policy positions and running
corporate board rooms, as part of an increasing number of thought leaders who
are making a difference that will inspire generations to come.
To
support this momentum we urge leaders, policy makers and tech pioneers to
engage more of their efforts into rectifying long-standing gender inequalities.
2021 is the year for fresh thinking, the time to embrace re-invention, as we collectively push
for greater equity for women and girls.
We’ve
seen great progress. Every region in the world has made gains in ensuring the
legal treatment of women. More women and girls have access to education and
healthcare than they ever did in the past. Technology is also being harnessed
to reduce gender barriers. Start-ups and tech companies are deploying
job-hiring software platforms that use Artificial Intelligence to weed out bias
and human resource analytic tools that allow deeper participation from all
staff, regardless of seniority or gender.
Women
are making significant advances. American voters elected Kamala Harris as the
first female vice president in U.S. history – a milestone. Christine Lagarde
was the first woman to head the European Central Bank and Nicke Widyawati runs
Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned largest oil and gas company. There are
dozens of the others in leadership roles that are making a difference in their
countries.
But
progress shouldn't be measured by just the number of women in leadership
positions alone or by symbolic breakthroughs; it should be defined by equal
access to professional opportunities and education, greater access to finance
and healthcare, and more female voices in the community.
Covid-19
hasn’t helped; in fact, it has highlighted how quickly things can change. Some
predictions suggest the gains seen over the last 25 years with women in the
workplace could be wiped out in a year. When compared to men, four times as
many women dropped out of the U.S. labour force in September (roughly 865,000
women, compared to 216,000 men), according to a report by the Century
Foundation and Center for American Progress.
We
believe there are a number of solutions that could help us focus policies.
Expanding internet access into homes and rural communities is crucial, and
governments should make this an infrastructure priority to increase remote work
opportunities and FII-virtual career training. The International
Telecommunication Union put the proportion of women using the Internet globally
at 48 per cent, compared to 58 per cent of men in 2019.
Access
to financial literacy should be expanded. How to manage savings, banking and
investment accounts for women is important since women live longer yet have
weaker earning power. Without financial literacy, women can struggle to lift
themselves out of poverty and make decisions independently for themselves and
their families.
The
roughly 252 million female entrepreneurs around the world should also be
supported. Although the number of female entrepreneurs has increased about 114
per cent in the last two decades, according to data from the Legal Job Site,
it’s still falling behind their male counterparts. To change this dedicated
credit lines, availability of infrastructure for their businesses and
government-led programs should be strengthened to promote the entrepreneurial
ecosystem for women, particularly in developing countries where many can
struggle to find work.
When
self-isolation and lockdowns were implemented to slow the spread of Covid-19,
we had the good fortunate of working from home. We logged into our laptops,
used our phones and held virtual conference calls. We were fortunate, but
others weren’t. Those working as frontline medical staff, in the fast-food
industry and other service sectors had to manage an unprecedented change in
their lives. Many suffered as they had to quit their jobs to home school their
children.
While
there have been significant gains for women, we believe that more needs to be
done. There is no better time to advance women’s roles in society than now --
there needs to be a Neo-Renaissance, a rethinking. Since we can’t go back to
the way things were, let’s be more inclusive going forward.
https://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/featured-news/gender-equality-global-priority
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Amnesty
slams Houthi ban on Yemeni women
30.01.2021
SANAA
Amnesty
International has condemned a Houthi decision banning Yemeni women from working
in restaurants, calling it "shameful and discriminatory”.
In a
thread on its Twitter account, the human rights organization said it stands
with all Yemeni women “in their fight for their rights”.
“Institutionalizing
discrimination increases oppression on women and impedes the foundation for
sustainable and gender-equitable recovery and reconstruction in Yemen,” it
said.
Amnesty
stressed that UN efforts to achieve a “peaceful reconciliation” in Yemen are
impossible “without safeguarding and protecting women’s rights”.
There
was no immediate comment from the Houthi movement on the matter.
Local
media outlets have reported that Houthis have launched a campaign in the
capital Sanaa prohibiting women from working in restaurants on grounds that it
contradicts "the conservative Yemeni identity”.
Yemen
has been wracked by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels
captured much of the country, including Sanaa.
A
Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the
situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crisis with nearly
80% or more than 24 million of its people needing humanitarian assistance and
protection and more than 13 million in danger of starving to death, according
to UN estimates.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/amnesty-slams-houthi-ban-on-yemeni-women/2128179
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